Room Temperature Kegging – Kegging WITHOUT a Refrigerator or Freezer?
I periodically get questions along these lines… can I keg without a refrigerator?
Well, the answer is, sure you can. But, as with many things, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
Balancing an Un-chilled System
The warmer your beer is, the less apt it is to absorb CO2. As temperature rises so does the pressure required to maintain carbonation. Let’s say your storage area is your basement and it stays at about 64 degrees Fahrenheit and you want something like 2.2 volumes of carbonation. A reasonable carbonation level for an American ale, Considering this example, you’d need to keep your CO2 regulator set to about 18 PSI. If you use 3/16″ ID tubing, you’d need somewhere between 6 and 12 feet of tubing [See: Step by Step Balancing Your Kegerator Draft System] to offset that pressure for a decent pour. I haven’t tried it, but my gut feeling is you’d be closer to 12 feet if not more. Lots of tubing. If there’s much of a temperature differential between the bottom and top of the keg, it may result in CO2 coming out of solution in that long length of tubing, causing excessive foaming, even if your system is balanced. This can happen even in a chilled kegerator [See: Kegerator Beer Line Temperatures & Reducing Foam with a Recirculating Fan] so it’s certainly a possibility for a room temperature setup.
Of course you can tweak this scenario with different numbers and maybe it looks better for you.
Temperature Swings = Bad Pours
If temperature varies in the spot that you’re keeping your un-refrigerated keg the setup will be even more temperamental especially at points when it’s warmer. Something like.. It’s hot outside today, my beer is going to be all foam.